Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday he had spoken with South Korean President Park Geun Hye in Singapore and requested that South Korea arrange a trilateral summit with China at an early date. (Kyodo)

The assembly of Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward is expected to pass an ordinance next week acknowledging same-sex partnerships as equivalent to marriage, after a bill for the ordinance was approved at a committee meeting Thursday. (Jiji Press)

Candidates in 10 gubernatorial elections across Japan have launched campaigns in a series of contests that are expected to hinge on measures to boost the economy and revive dwindling regional communities. (NHK)

The Fukuoka High Court ruled Wednesday that the December 2014 general election was unconstitutional due to a disparity in the weight of votes between districts, making it the first such judgment in a series of similar lawsuits filed with high courts nationwide. (Kyodo)

The Hiroshima High Court and the Sendai High Court’s Akita branch ruled Tuesday that last December’s Lower House election was “in a state of unconstitutionality” due to the disparity in the weight of votes between districts. (Japan Times)

The Saga District Court on Tuesday doubled the monetary penalty imposed on the state for refusing to open the floodgates of the Isahaya Bay dike in southwestern Japan as ordered by an earlier ruling. (Kyodo)